Abstract:
It is generally believed that Information Communication Technologies can extend
knowledge and education to poor and marginalised people in South Africa. However,
African countries still face many challenges in trying to provide appropriate and
sustainable solutions for improving education and skills that will support the
development of educators in all communities; this can be viewed in light of the
millennium developmental goal. Thus the Department of Education put measures in
place to bridge the gap in knowledge, skills and understanding of Computer Application
Technology (CAT) educators through the provision of in-service training (INSET)
programmes.
The research study aimed at assessing the impact of in-service training programmes
offered to CAT educators in Secondary Schools in the Free State province. The study
made use of a survey and an evaluation research design. The target population for this
study was all Further Education and Training (FET) Phase educators in all secondary
schools in the Free State Province. A self-constructed questionnaire was used to
collect both qualitative and quantitative data.
The study revealed that the INSET programme still needs to improve on its content
relevance to syllabus and it should provide educators with skills in dealing with the
challenge of teaching learners with disabilities. The majority of educators were satisfied
with the INSET programme as they indicated that it assisted in enhancing their skills
and content knowledge; they further indicated that it gave them motivation to go into
classrooms and teach. One educator quoted “I am now able to make some functions
that usually gave me headaches. It greatly changed and developed the knowledge I
had”. This indicates that the challenges that were experienced in classrooms were also
met. It can thus be concluded that the INSET programmes did have a positive impact to
the skills and challenges that educators experienced. That the study did achieve its
v
goal which was to assess the impact of INSET programs for CAT educators in the
Motheo District, Free State province.
